PARIS – Tokyo has pledged around ¥2.45 billion in aid to Laos for construction of a bridge as well as a study program for Laotians to visit Japan.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida offered the aid in a meeting in Paris on Tuesday with his Laotian counterpart, Thongloun Sisoulith, who doubles as deputy prime minister.

The funding will be used to build a bridge in southern Laos to improve the Southeast Asian nation’s transport network with Vietnam and Thailand. Under the study program, 20 people from Laos, including public servants, will be able to visit Japan.